Together
by LieNoMore
Summary: One shot set on the day of the trial verdict. Frank is found not guilty due to Peter & Carla's affair being revealed. Carla & Peter then have an argument outside court as a shaken up Carla tells him it is fault that Frank has been let off.


In an attempt to sleep, to escape from the constant pain that now seemed to be her life, she closed her eyes, but almost immediately _his_ flashed into her mind. Small and cold and calculating… and wasn't that just him all over? A small man who had to rely on crushing other people in order to gain a little bit of power. Credit where credit's due, she supposed, he was good at that. The state she was lying in was testament to that. Of course he was cold and unfeeling, although she hadn't thought that at first. It almost physically hurt her to think of how he fooled her, how he pretended to care for her and love her… because surely it had to be pretence? Surely no one could have two sides to them so extreme that they could make her feel so special and wanted one day and then take all that away, and then some, the next? Everything had gone completely to his plan. He had calculated and plotted and the jury had believed and believed. He had won and she would forever have him in her thoughts and in her mind. He tainted everything, he was everywhere, she would never be free.

He watched her sleep and thought how beautiful she looked but straight away he could tell that she was not at peace. She fidgeted slightly and the expression on her face was so sad, like she was broken. Still he didn't want to wake her straight away, he knew sleep had been in extremely short supply to her of late and even fitful dreams were sometimes better than harsh reality. He wanted so much to make everything better for her, to take her back a few months and have her never start a relationship with Frank, or even to have never met him. He'd seen her down many times before, the lowest he thought she could ever get but Frank had topped that. He had taken the very essence of her and stifled it. It had occurred to him some time ago that the rape had brought him much closer to her, which disturbed him to no end. It had just triggered something in him, the depth of his feelings of protectiveness towards her had alarmed him and although he tried to deny it at first, he knew. He knew that he would love her forever and forever would he take care of her.

She stirred and immediately sensed that someone else was in the room with her, at least Frank had left her something, she was always now on her guard. She opened her eyes slowly, half expecting to see Michelle and half expecting to see Frank. She was confused for a second when she realised that it was neither, it was Peter.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you… or frighten you."

He added the last part after seeing a little bit of fear in her eyes. She was so guarded these days that other people may not have noticed but he could read her so well now, he noticed even the tiniest flicker of emotion in her face.

"I didn't expect to see you here."

She really hadn't. The things she had said to him outside court had been awful, she could see that now. She'd just been so angry and hurt and scared. It seemed to her that if Peter hadn't been involved then perhaps she would have got justice earlier that day but instead she had been left with nothing. But she couldn't blame Peter for that, this she knew. She had wanted him, needed him and most likely would not even have made it to court without him. He had been her rock, her constant in this new, frightening world that she found herself in since _that night_ and she feared that she may now have thrown it all away by telling him that Frank walking free was his fault.

"Michelle said it was ok to come through, I hope you don't mind."

She shook her head. She would have to tackle Michelle later for she knew she would have something to say about what had been revealed in court. Michelle would most definitely have something to say about her and Peter, she was just surprised she hadn't said anything until now. Maybe she sensed that it wasn't the right time and Carla was not in the mood for an argument.

"How are you feeling?"

He shook his head and cursed at himself as soon as he said that. How are you feeling? What a stupid question! The man who raped her had just been found not guilty, how did he think she would be feeling?

"Tired. Tired and sorry."

"Don't be sorry, you have nothing to be sorry for. You did what you could to put him behind bars, it's not your fault that the jury believed his lies. He'll get his comeuppance one day, Carla, I'd put money on that."

She looked into his eyes and for a moment she believed him. His eyes were warm and welcoming and trusting. Such a contrast to _his_. They were complete opposites and that was just one more reason to love him.

"That's not what I meant, I meant sorry for what I said to you outside the court. I was in shock and I didn't really know what I was saying."

She looked so worried, like she believed she may have lost him, like she thought he was going to walk away from her after everything that they had gone through together. It hurt him that she thought that but could he really blame her? She'd trusted several times before and been let down just as many. Frank had taken what trust she had left and thrown it away.

Instinctively he reached out to touch her but he remembered her reaction when he'd tried to do the same outside the court. She had screamed at him not to touch her, to leave her alone. It had reminded him of the first time he saw and spoke to her after the rape, she had flinched when he walked towards her. He would never forget that.

"I'm sorry, I won't touch you, I promise… I just… you don't have to be sorry. I understand. If you want me to leave then I will but I want you to know that I don't want to. What you said outside the court is forgotten, you were angry, you were upset, I understand. I love you, Carla."

Again she looked into his eyes and she wondered if maybe she could let him touch her. Here he was, this man that she had loved for so long, pledging his love to her and wanting to take care of her but yet she couldn't, something was stopping her. What if she felt _him_ when he touched her? What if _he_ was going to take that away from her too?

"Peter, I love you too, you know that, so much… but I, I don't know if I can. I don't know if I can do this. I thought Frank would be behind bars and today would be the start of the rest of my life but it's not, _he's_ not. He can do whatever he wants now, he can come back, he can do it again and who's going to stop him? I couldn't stop him before, I can't stop him now…"

She began to cry, her mind taking her places that she did not want to go but seemed to be almost all the time now. She would never forgive herself for letting him do to her everything that he did. If only she had fought harder, if only she had tried that little bit more.

"Hey, hey… don't think like that. The blame is not on you for not stopping him, it's on him for doing it in the first place. He will not come anywhere near you and if he does, we'll stop him together. I love you, I will be there for you… always, Carla."

Again he reached out his arms and this time, with only the slightest hesitation, she fell into them. His arms never failed to make her feel even just that little bit safer.

"I promise you, Carla, we'll do this together, ok? I'm not leaving you."

She nodded and finally she accepted. _He _may have broken her and there was no doubt about that in her mind but she was not so broken that she could not be mended. She was not so broken that she was unlovable. She was not so broken that he had taken her life. She would survive this. It would be hard and it would be frightening but she would not be alone. The man whose arms she lay in, the man she had loved for so long, he would be there. She would fight this, fight _him_, with Peter by her side and that made her feel much stronger. He had not won, she would not let him.


End file.
